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CCTV to help tackle ‘wild Westborough’ in Westcliff

CCTV will be put up to drive out antisocial behaviour from an area of Westcliff dubbed, “The Wild Westborough”.

A mobile camera will be set up in Fairfax Drive, Westcliff, for two months so police can keep an eye on troublemakers using the street as a playground for drink, fights, and unruly behaviour.

The road is one of 15 across the boroughwhere police will be upping patrols to cut down on crime over the summer.

David Glover, who lives on Fairfax Drive and is also a member of the Residents’ Association for Westborough (RAW), is pleased to see action being taken.

He said: “It’s awful down here.

Relentless is the best word to describe it.

“I have lived here for 28 years and there have always been problems.

“A boy has defecated in my garden, someone threatened to set my fence on fire and there is often drug dealing down the Prittlebrook path behind our properties.

“There is also rubbish dumped all the time. Someone put a sofa and chairs outside my property once. My garden was broken into last year and someone dumped a load of builders rubbish and car parts in there. There is perpetual low and medium level vandalism and antisocial behaviour.

“I call it the wild Westborough as nobody seems to care and people get away with what they do. It’s like living in a cowboy town. Hopefully cameras will work.”

The exact location of the camera has not yet been decided.

Southend Police’s district commander, chief inspector Simon Anslow, said: “This is an area we get quite a lot of calls from and we know the public are very concerned about it.

“The main calls we get for that area are about antisocial behaviour and concern for safety such as missing people.

“It’s quite a long street but we know there are bits of it that are more likely to have issues than others.”

He added: “We put cameras up in St George’s Avenue in response to concerns about drug use. Since the cameras went up the feedback has been that the drug use has reduced, so they do have a positive impact on the local area.

“Drug use is a neighbourhood priority for that area and this shows we are tackling it.”

The mobile camera will be provided by Southend Council.

A RESIDENT who has campaigned for cameras in the area is hopeful the CCTV will help reduce antisocial behaviour in Fairfax Drive this summer.

Brenda Smith, chairman of the Residents’ Association of Westborough, who lives in Hildaville Drive, Westcliff, said: “I have been asking the police for mobile cameras to be put up so they can check those certain hotspots where people are constantly dumping rubbish. If there was a camera they would catch people.

“I also know young people congregate in the park to drink alcohol.

“Hopefully it will work. Fairfax Drive was where a young man was stabbed last year. It was a horrible feeling for that to happen so close to where you live.

“What they are doing is very positive, hopefully it will make people think twice about their antisocial behaviour.”

Comments

we call that area of westcliff, well really the whole of westcliff mini brixton!

we call that area of westcliff, well really the whole of westcliff mini brixton!chunkus04

we call that area of westcliff, well really the whole of westcliff mini brixton!

Score: 1

born and raised criminal
6:23pm Tue 10 Jun 14

When they say upping their patrols, do they mean a couple of overweight PCSO's to walk up and down for 10 mins then go back to the station for tea and cake?

When they say upping their patrols, do they mean a couple of overweight PCSO's to walk up and down for 10 mins then go back to the station for tea and cake?born and raised criminal

When they say upping their patrols, do they mean a couple of overweight PCSO's to walk up and down for 10 mins then go back to the station for tea and cake?

Score: 9

No Riff Raff
7:26pm Tue 10 Jun 14

Praise be to Labour and Tony Blair. Until 97, it was still an ok place to live.

Praise be to Labour and Tony Blair. Until 97, it was still an ok place to live.No Riff Raff

Praise be to Labour and Tony Blair. Until 97, it was still an ok place to live.

Score: 11

Eric the Red
5:32am Wed 11 Jun 14

No Riff Raff wrote…

Praise be to Labour and Tony Blair. Until 97, it was still an ok place to live.

--------until it became a dumping ground for asylum seekers.

[quote][p][bold]No Riff Raff[/bold] wrote:
Praise be to Labour and Tony Blair. Until 97, it was still an ok place to live.[/p][/quote]--------until it became a dumping ground for asylum seekers.Eric the Red

No Riff Raff wrote…

Praise be to Labour and Tony Blair. Until 97, it was still an ok place to live.

--------until it became a dumping ground for asylum seekers.

Score: 6

leighman
12:02pm Wed 11 Jun 14

Eric the Red wrote…

No Riff Raff wrote…

Praise be to Labour and Tony Blair. Until 97, it was still an ok place to live.

--------until it became a dumping ground for asylum seekers.

And all the 'problem' families plus the London council throwouts. I used to live in Beedell Avenue and as has been stated, until 1997 it was a decent enough place to live, the only problem being too many cars for the avalable parking spaces. Then within 6 months the area took a downward turn, luckily I was in a position to up sticks and move, unfortunately a lot of respectable ( and old) people were not as fortunate and have had to endure the degeneration of the area and the consequent depreciation of their property value. Yeah thanks for that Tony!

[quote][p][bold]Eric the Red[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]No Riff Raff[/bold] wrote: Praise be to Labour and Tony Blair. Until 97, it was still an ok place to live.[/p][/quote]--------until it became a dumping ground for asylum seekers.[/p][/quote]And all the 'problem' families plus the London council throwouts. I used to live in Beedell Avenue and as has been stated, until 1997 it was a decent enough place to live, the only problem being too many cars for the avalable parking spaces. Then within 6 months the area took a downward turn, luckily I was in a position to up sticks and move, unfortunately a lot of respectable ( and old) people were not as fortunate and have had to endure the degeneration of the area and the consequent depreciation of their property value. Yeah thanks for that Tony!leighman

Eric the Red wrote…

No Riff Raff wrote…

Praise be to Labour and Tony Blair. Until 97, it was still an ok place to live.

--------until it became a dumping ground for asylum seekers.

And all the 'problem' families plus the London council throwouts. I used to live in Beedell Avenue and as has been stated, until 1997 it was a decent enough place to live, the only problem being too many cars for the avalable parking spaces. Then within 6 months the area took a downward turn, luckily I was in a position to up sticks and move, unfortunately a lot of respectable ( and old) people were not as fortunate and have had to endure the degeneration of the area and the consequent depreciation of their property value. Yeah thanks for that Tony!

Score: 4

andy:)
1:29pm Wed 11 Jun 14

No Riff Raff wrote…

Praise be to Labour and Tony Blair. Until 97, it was still an ok place to live.

I think you'll find we have had a Tory/Lib Dem government for the last 4.5 years and the local council has been Tory controlled for 14 or so years, so why are you rambling on about Tony Blair ?

[quote][p][bold]No Riff Raff[/bold] wrote:
Praise be to Labour and Tony Blair. Until 97, it was still an ok place to live.[/p][/quote]I think you'll find we have had a Tory/Lib Dem government for the last 4.5 years and the local council has been Tory controlled for 14 or so years, so why are you rambling on about Tony Blair ?andy:)

No Riff Raff wrote…

Praise be to Labour and Tony Blair. Until 97, it was still an ok place to live.

I think you'll find we have had a Tory/Lib Dem government for the last 4.5 years and the local council has been Tory controlled for 14 or so years, so why are you rambling on about Tony Blair ?

Score: -3

Egghead1
8:19pm Sun 15 Jun 14

What are you all on about? I've lived in this area since 82 and it's always been rough. Fighting, drugs, rubbish on the streets. And it's because the scummy people that live there breed and produce kids that are growing up and are even more scummy than their parents. Track suit wearing layabouts that haven't worked an honest day ever, claiming every benefit possible and drinking/doing drugs daily. Get cameras covering the whole road, and while your there do a few door to door checks...I'm sure half of the houses will contain stolen goods and or benefit fraud

What are you all on about? I've lived in this area since 82 and it's always been rough. Fighting, drugs, rubbish on the streets. And it's because the scummy people that live there breed and produce kids that are growing up and are even more scummy than their parents. Track suit wearing layabouts that haven't worked an honest day ever, claiming every benefit possible and drinking/doing drugs daily. Get cameras covering the whole road, and while your there do a few door to door checks...I'm sure half of the houses will contain stolen goods and or benefit fraudEgghead1

What are you all on about? I've lived in this area since 82 and it's always been rough. Fighting, drugs, rubbish on the streets. And it's because the scummy people that live there breed and produce kids that are growing up and are even more scummy than their parents. Track suit wearing layabouts that haven't worked an honest day ever, claiming every benefit possible and drinking/doing drugs daily. Get cameras covering the whole road, and while your there do a few door to door checks...I'm sure half of the houses will contain stolen goods and or benefit fraud

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